


Malec Madness

by Becsabillion



Category: Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, If you don't ship them gtfo, M/M, Malec, Romance, Shorts, Smut, Whatever little things I can think of, explicit - Freeform, mature content, prompts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-21
Updated: 2016-03-19
Packaged: 2018-05-22 12:21:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6079140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Becsabillion/pseuds/Becsabillion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompts, shorts, one-shots all centering around Malec and the world of Shadowhunters/The Mortal Instruments! Please give me ideas for stories as they are what I live off. Also, just generally enjoy!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Train

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on this Tumblr prompt (and then expanded upon!):  
> 'I don't know you but I fall asleep on the train every ride home and you always wake me up cause we have the same stop but we've never actually talked. Then one day you're the one falling asleep and I got so excited for my comeuppance I made us get off at the wrong stop.'  
> Also the train station may be wrong because I just chose a random one in Brooklyn so sorry!  
> Otherwise, just enjoy and comment if you have any ideas you'd like to see! <3

Alec was dreaming. He was dreaming about Jace and Isabelle; they were laughing at the other side of the training room and then suddenly, Isabelle called to him, but instead of her teasing voice, a monotone drone came from her mouth. She was saying they were nearly at Atlantic Avenue Terminal.

Suddenly, a hand came to rest lightly on his shoulder.

Alec started awake with an awkward whimper that he tried to cover up as a cough when he saw who it was.

It was the same guy as usual, the hot guy who had been waking Alec up for the last month when he inevitably dozed off on the train. The guy gave him the usual sweet smile, not sheepish or embarrassed at all, his sparkly eyeliner emphasising the strange colours in his eyes.

Alec had started to doze off on the train back to the Institute as, with his newfound responsibility as an 18 year old, he had been assigned to further-flung missions than his parabatai and his sister. He wasn't willing to admit he missed them but his dream had just proven the extent of his loneliness.

Alec was about to say thank you to Glitter Boy but a yawn overtook his words and the train was pulling into the station; he forced himself to his feet, feeling a little annoyed that he had missed the opportunity to talk to his waker again. The poor guy had to get him up about three times a week, and they'd never even spoken. Sometimes, the guy rushed off, sometimes Alec was too scared to say anything, mostly the timing just didn't feel..right.

Alec took the steps quickly, shuddering at the gap as per usual. The guilt of his rudeness was chasing him off the platform and he glanced around, hoping to spot Glitter Boy and finally thank him.

But the guy had vanished. Like, literally into thin air. Where he'd been walking as he got off the train, there was nobody in sight for a long stretch. Alec frowned, rubbed his eyes. Then, as his phone rang with a call from Jace, he meandered sleepily out of the station.

 **-**

Alec was sitting in an empty train carriage. No chairs, no tables, no luggage. The only clue that it was a train at all was the familiar rattle on the rails and the steady movement. Glitter Boy was standing in front of him and he looked different. His eyes were changing in the face of Alec's disbelief. The pupils were contracting and changing until they resembled cats eyes more than anything. Alec gasped in recognition.

And woke up. He glanced around the normal train compartment and shivered slightly, wrapping his jacket tighter around him. Clearly, that rogue warlock he'd been hunting had gotten to him and now he was seeing Downworlders everywhere. 

Suddenly afraid he had missed his stop, Alec glanced at the electronic sign and sighed with relief as he saw his stop was coming up. He glanced to his right and there was Glitter Boy, head resting lightly on the glass, eyes closed.

Wait. Was he.. _asleep?_

Alec almost jumped from his chair. This was the perfect opportunity to thank him! The waker would become the wakee..As the train began to slow, Alec leapt to his feet, feeling more awake than he had ever been on the train before. 

Gently, Alec reached for the other man's shoulder and carefully shook him. 

He didn't wake.

Alec was getting desperate now - the train was almost at the platform. He leaned down, close to Glitter Boy's face, and whispered, "Hello? Wake up."

Abruptly the man startled into consciousness. And Alec really hadn't thought through how close they were to each other. He could feel Glitter Boy's warm breath on his face and he bit his lip awkwardly before moving back.

For a moment, Glitter Boy continued to stare and then he stumbled to his feet.

"Sorry, uh, I was trying to wake you, it's my - um, our stop." Alec mumbled quietly, mentally berating himself.

Glitter Boy laughed and the awkwardness dissipated. "Don't beat yourself up. It's just not every day you find yourself staring into that brilliant shade of blue." There wasn't even a hint of shyness in his voice, even though Alec might as well have been a tomato.

"Yeah, well..It was kind of my turn to wake you up. Thanks for every time before, I don't know how many times I would have missed my stop otherwise." 

"No problem! Speaking of stops.." Glitter Boy added as they headed for the door. 

The gap between the train and the platform looked smaller today and Alec managed to ignore it in favour of watching Glitter Boy stroll off the train ahead of him.

He had to alter his look to one of indifference as Glitter Boy turned to him with a puzzled frown. 

"Is this.." He began but Alec had already realised, far too late. He turned back to the train doors, which shut with an efficient _whoosh._

"Shit." Alec groaned as he realised they'd gotten off way too early. This was not their stop, and their train was careering off into the distance.

He turned around slowly, trying to delay the understandable anger of Glitter Boy. Instead, he saw only a smirk plastered across the other man's face.

"Well." He smiled, not looking in the least pissed. His strange eyes glimmered good-humoredly.

"I am so sorry, I was excited about being awake, I completely forgot about which stop and I'm so used to getting off the minute I wake up, and I was looking forward to saying thanks to you-" Alec managed to shut off the blabbering only when he took a good look at Glitter Boy's eyes, which had somehow changed significantly at some point, seeing as they were now distinctly feline shaped.

Oh. Oh, _fuck._

"Figured it out, Shadowhunter?" Glitter Warlock grinned as he turned to leave the station.

"How the hell could I not know you're a warlock?" Alec chased after him as they took the steps up. 

"Well, one, you chase demons so often it must be relatively easy to ignore warlocks. We're usually quite undistinctive, only one defining characteristic that can often be hidden. Two, we're exceptionally good at glamours and to be honest, I'm one of the best. Oh hell, I'm _the_ best at glamours. Did you really think it wasn't strange that the moment you got on the train every day, you practically passed out from exhaustion? The glamour I wear is supposed to just keep Shadowhunters distracted but yours emphasised your sense of sleepiness probably a bit too much and voila, you were basically knocked out by it each time you got on the train. I did try to stop it, got on in different carriages so you didn't spend every journey unconscious, but you kept following me somehow.." At this, Glitter Warlock looked back with a slightly bemused frown. Alec was still attempting to chase him up the steps and as they reached the top, he succeeded in grabbing his arm. 

"Who are you?"

"Name's Magnus Bane, High Warlock of Brooklyn. You've probably heard of me, I'm quite famous, and if not, you'll _definitely_ have heard about my cat, Chairman Meow. I hear he's quite the 'in thing' right now." 

"Do you ever stop talking?" Alec asked after a brief confused silence on his part and an amused one on Magnus Bane's, who he had heard mentioned in hushed undertones recently, after becoming a larger part of the Clave. 

"I try not to, I detest silences. As my friend Caterina says, 'Silence reigns and we all get wet'. And that's quite a strange thing for her to say now that I think of it, she doesn't have much of a sense of humour this century.." Magnus was striding towards the taxi rank and throwing money at the driver as Alec caught up to him again.

"Stop running off," he panted breathlessly.

Magnus gave him a pitying glance. "You're a Shadowhunter for God's sake. You can keep up." And with that, he'd bundled Alec into the back of the taxi and was following him in while shouting an untelligible address at the driver, who grunted in response.

"Am I being kidnapped?" Alec asked uneasily, suddenly aware that the only weapon he had with him was an arrowhead that he'd pulled out of a demon that morning.

"I wouldn't put it that way. Anyway, you're too old to be _kid_ napped, more like _teen_ napped. That's an awful word, forget I said that. I'm more of a supervisor per se." Alec watched Magnus in stunned silence; the warlock accompanied every move he made with dramatic gestures and exaggerated faces, almost as if he was showing off.

Something clicked into place in Alec's head as Magnus continued, now ranting about dogs for some reason.

"That's how you disappeared the other day!" He added, completely cutting off Magnus, who had moved on to the topic of clocks.

"Pardon?" Magnus asked, letting his hands drop back from describing the shape of Big Ben's bell.

"You disappeared the other day when I was trying to catch up to you-", Alec willed himself not to blush, "um, to say thank you."

"Yes, well, I Portaled to my apartment." 

"Why can't you just do that normally? Why take the train..at-at all.." 

There was a brief, extremely loud silence before Alec said, "Oh" and sat back in his seat.

"I took the train last month because I was too tired to Portal. You were sitting in the opposite seat and I knew you were a Lightwood immediately. I used to be..friends with your family. It took me a while to figure out which one you were." Magnus' voice was quieter now, contained and level, but unsteady in the pacing, as if he was controlling something. "When we reached your stop, I was going to just let you sleep on. But...I, uh." He cleared his throat. "I couldn't do it. I woke you up by pretending it was my stop too."

"You talked so loudly it woke me up." Alec recalled slowly.

"And then I couldn't stop doing it. I've taken the train every day since, expecting you to get on. Sometimes you don't, mostly you do. When we get off, I just Portal home from there."

"For a month?"

"Yes." Alec couldn't restrain the question anymore.

"Why?"

"Because I couldn't quite get you out of my head. You were persistent, like the Lightwoods usually are." Magnus smiled as if at some forgotten anecdote. "I couldn't let you miss your stop. I saw you sleeping, and I didn't want you to frown, like you were before you fell asleep, like you did when you woke up the first time. I didn't want you to.."

"To what?" Alec wanted to lean forward in his seat to hear the answer but instead, he focused all his attention on Magnus' face, even when the warlock turned to look at him.

"I didn't want to see you unhappy." Magnus said simply, as if it was the easiest thing in the world.

Alec knew what he could have done in the tense moment that followed. 

Instead, he nodded, breaking their eye contact.

And then he leaned forward to give him a brief (he was going for manly) hug, murmuring a thank you as he did so.

Moving backwards, he felt Magnus' hand curl loosely into his hair, stopping him from leaning away for a brief moment. And it was the train all over again, smelling the citrusy scent of Magnus, with what he thought was sandalwood underneath.

And he couldn't help kissing him.

Their lips met with equal tentativeness and hunger. Magnus had his tongue inside Alec's mouth faster than Alec could even contemplate and as Alec whimpered insistently, Magnus found the hem of his shirt and let his hands begin to roam up the Shadowhunter's back. The feel of hot skin on skin was almost too much and Alec had to fight hard to restrain his groan. Gently, Magnus's nails scored down Alec's back and without a moment's thought, Alec was straddling the warlock's lap and Magnus's hips were grinding up into him and-

There was a polite cough as the taxi rolled to a stop. 

Alec broke away from Magnus and looked at him without even an ounce of shame, embarrassment or awkwardness beginning to flicker inside him. He felt only want and he wondered how quickly they could get to a bed as he made to glance out the window.

But Magnus was holding his jaw, tracing a thumb down his cheek.

"We're at the Institute," he whispered, a lover's gentle words even as Alec felt them sting.

"Did you not want me-"

"To come to mine? One, how was I supposed to know this would happen? And two, your family will be suspicious if you don't get back soon. Three? Even if I'd known, we only just met. I don't put out until the second date," he grinned and Alec felt his previous disappointment fade away under the warlock's reassuring humour.

Alec nodded and shifted off Magnus's lap, opening the car door with a shaking hand.

Magnus was putting something on his other hand in carefully scrawled handwriting.

"Call me," he winked, not caring about the cliche. 

Alec felt the genuine smile blaze onto his face as he turned and got out of the taxi, heading for the Institute.

"Oh, and Alec?"

He turned.

"Your voice is sexy when you've just woken up. God, I've been wanting to say that so badly for a month." 

Alec could see the edge of Magnus's grin in the darkened cab but he just smiled, shaking his head, as he climbed the Institute steps and felt the numbers on his hand burn up his whole being until the shadows of the lobby could have been the brightest sunlight he'd ever seen.


	2. The Elevator

Magnus almost forgot to tip the taxi driver as he half-fell from the cab. He'd already stood Hadrian Industries up twice in the last week and after finally managing to drag himself out of his apartment, he was not going to ruin his new work ethic by being late to their meeting. 

Praying nothing magically suspicious would happen as he hurried for the glass doors, (as it had last Tuesday - it was hardly his fault if a nixie had dragged him into a nightclub on his way to their first scheduled appointment) Magnus kept his eyes fixed firmly on the ground. Gliding through the entrance and skipping the turnstile with a subtle smatter of magic, he practically strode towards the lift.

Perfect. One had just arrived and there was only one other man in there. He was sort of cute actually. It would be a shame if the elevator happened to break down..

No! No getting distracted again, no matter how coal black his hair was. And Magnus had a feeling that appearing disheveled and with hickeys on his neck would not come across well at his interview. 

He was only a few metres from the lift now. Probably because Magnus was scrutinising his face so closely, the man looked up and saw him approaching. Magnus tried not to gasp at the exact blue of his eyes and instead shot his most winning smile at the newly nicknamed Blue Bombshell.

Instead of blushing, fainting or throwing up in excitement (all of which Magnus had witnessed before and come to expect over the years), Blue Eyes took one glance at him and started jabbing desperately at what Magnus could only presume was the 'Door Close' button. Although he would have preferred it to be the 'Emergency Oxygen Supply for the Sighting of Beautiful Men' button.

The warlock narrowed his eyes and sighed disappointedly, noticeably increasing his pace. He hated the boys who were all style, no substance. And this little fuckboy was not about to make him late to a very important and potentially full of cash meeting.

The boy was still angrily pressing the button and trying to look innocent at the same time. And lo and behold, the doors began to close.

"Not today," Magnus hissed as he broke into a run and slid through the tiny gap with the help of a little magic. The door clicked shut behind him but he wasn't done yet.

Looking at the number display, Magnus reached forward and ran his hand down every button at once. It took a little while, seeing as there were 66 of them.

His new cellmate looked mostly in shock now, although there was a slight twitch to the side of his pretty-looking mouth.

For the first three deserted floors, there was an uncomfortable silence. Magnus wasn't planning to get off until floor 44 so he had an awkward amount of time left. And judging from the look on his companion's face, he wasn't planning on moving any time soon. He seemed to be in a permanent state of surprise actually.

Magnus glanced at the floor, the mirror, the buttons, the number 5, sighed and gave up holding the words in.

"You started it."

The blue eyed bastard looked incredulous for a moment and there was that quiet flick upwards at the corner of his mouth again.

"How did you get through the door like that?" He asked coolly. His voice was deep and oddly soothing when Magnus had been expecting a high-pitched nasal tone.

"Oh, magic." Magnus answered truthfully and then turned to wink, "No, I'm very flexible actually."

The man smirked and looked away, although his blush swept his calm exterior aside.

"Don't you think it's a bit rude to shut the lift on innocent men who are already about ten minutes late to a job interview?" Magnus asked conversationally, trying to keep the annoyed edge from his voice and failing so badly the poor man edged away from him slightly.

"Yeah, well..I always try to get the elevator up by myself," was his only response, and the lie was so obvious Magnus had to restrain a laugh. He was becoming tempted to send the lift plummeting a few feet but resisted..barely.

"And you're aware that is a severe waste of resources, power and time..?" Magnus trailed off, not sure he wanted to know the answer to his unspoken question.

"Alec. Alec Lightwood." The man replied, looking as if he wanted to reach a hand out to shake but was a little scared it would be chopped off and used to press the elevator buttons.

Oh shit. How had Magnus not realised who he was? All Lightwoods looked the same. And now he looked, he could see a rune peeking from under Alec's collar.

"Ah, now the rudeness makes sense.." Magnus commented dryly, suddenly aware of his lack of weapons.

"Thanks, warlock." The word stung slightly, as it always did. "I wasn't aware you knew my family." 

"Magnus Bane, High Warlock of Brooklyn at your service. I would bow but it's rather cramped in here." Magnus said as the floor number reached twenty.

"You're Magnus? The one Hadrian Industries has doing their dirty work?"

Magnus bristled at the words and snapped, "Yes, well, what are you doing here? Let me guess, trying to find out what this company is up to? What demons they want summoned? When? Why? Guess what, the only way you're going to find that out is through the warlock who works for them, also known as me, and I wouldn't tell you if I had to eat a hundred horned toads." His last words came as a hiss through gritted teeth but when he glanced at Alec, he was smiling in that strange way again. 

"Horned toads are involved, huh?" 

Magnus turned away rolling his eyes and as the lift stopped at floor 24, he moved to get out.

Alec blocked his way almost carelessly with an outflung arm and Magnus could have sent a thousand volts through his skin in seconds and honestly, what was stopping him at this point. The boy was absolutely infuriating.

"Magnus. I'm really sorry about the elevator thing. I needed to be in one alone so I could check if there were cameras in here and that requires looking at the outside shaft which can't exactly be done in a room of strangers ready to report to their bosses. Since you're not a mundane, would you mind helping me?" 

Magnus took another step towards the door and tried to ignore the muscles in Alec's arm. Every time he helped Shadowhunters, he got into trouble. So why was he even considering this? He was literally twenty minutes late for his appointment.

But right on time for meeting Alec. Maybe it was meant to be, even if it was one of the stupidest things he'd done in a long time. Maybe even since the pirate thing.

Magnus swatted Alec's hand away from the door and let them close again before pressing the 'STOP' button and offering a leg up to Alec. The Shadowhunter just grinned and reached up to the convenient trapdoor, not even standing on tiptoes, to remove it with a carefully placed rune.

"Hold this, would you?" He grinned as he jumped to reach the edge of the elevator. Magnus didn't even try to ignore Alec's shirt riding up and the chiseled stomach that was inches from his face. Instead, he bit his lip and wondered if he had time to take a picture on his phone. 

Unfortunately, at this moment, Magnus was forced to rearrange his features into a long-suffering expression as Alec landed with a shake on the floor again. Replacing the trapdoor, he shot a smirk at Magnus.

"No cameras."

"Good. I would hate for anybody to get caught doing something naughty in the work lift."

Alec looked extremely confused but to Magnus's surprise, not awkward. "Why don't people just..not have sex in lifts?"

"Where's the fun in that?" The warlock grinned as the elevator began to move again.

The door sprung open and Magnus felt bitter disappointment as a beautiful woman waltzed in. He shot Alec a look as the doors closed but Alec was already turning towards the just-waiting-to-be-scouted lady. 

"Izzy? Find anything on that floor?"

'Izzy' gave Magnus one extremely sexual (even for Magnus) look and turned back to her partner. "Nothing. Must be further up. Who's the warlock?"

"Magnus Bane."

Izzy gave him another look, although this time she looked possibly even more interested. "Where did you pick him up?"

"I'm here for a job," Magnus replied, as dignified as ever. 

Izzy whispered something that sounded something like - oh hell, it was definitely "blowjob". Alec looked like he was holding back a laugh at Magnus's disgusted look.

"Magnus, this is my sister Isabelle." 

"Oh, we're on first name terms are we?" Isabelle suddenly clocked on and decided to inspect the other side of the lift, pushing Alec closer to Magnus not-so-subtly.

The 34th floor was rapidly approaching as Alec replied, "We checked for cameras, none here."

"We?" Isabelle quizzed, turning Magnus a one-eyebrow look that shrieked 'dibs maid of honour'.

"Yes," Alec replied, puzzled.

"I'm getting out here. Alec, meet me at the bottom in half an hour." Isabelle threw over her shoulder as she swept out the doors, throwing Magnus a wink and a 'Call him!' as she went.

The doors slid closed again and the silence was worse than it had been at the start of the whole debacle. Magnus cleared his throat and watched the number tick to 38.

"Sorry about Izzy. She's very.."

"Flamboyant? Dramatic? Gorgeous? Fierce?"

"Gorgeous?" Alec frowned.

"Why pick up on that?" Magnus asked easily, pleased with his trap.

"Oh, um..I don't know, I just..Well.." Alec trailed off.

"She is. Although, not really..my..type," Magnus finished with a meaningful glance that Alec pretended to ignore.

Instead of responding, the Shadowhunter moved towards the doors. 

"Where are you off to?" Magnus asked, trying desperately to sound casual.

"This is where I get off," Alec replied.

"Oh. Oh, okay. Good." Magnus snorted, pressing the 'Door Close' button lightly. He was impressed with how much he totally, completely, utterly didn't care.

"Magnus." Alec shoved his hand between the metal.

"Yeah?"

"I coud really use some help with this whole thing..I'd be-I mean, the Clave would be really grateful, completely in your debt." 

Magnus sighed dramatically. "Finally. Get back in, we're going back down. And call your sister." He said as he dragged Alec, protesting, back into the elevator. "You're looking in the complete wrong place, you want to try their 'hair salon' two blocks down. That's where they run the demonic activities."

Snapping his fingers, Magnus watched the elevator buttons speed downwards like a bomb timer gone wrong. He felt Alec's confusion and answered his question before he could ask it.

"Contrary to popular belief, I like to use my magic as little as possible." Better Alec believe a lie than find out the real reason Magnus had taken the slow way up with him.

As Alec called Isabelle, Magnus rang the 44th floor. 

"Sorry boys. I'm going to have to take a rain check on the interview again..Yes, I know, this was my 'last chance'.." Magnus laughed as the elevator dinged for the last annoying time. Isabelle was waiting in the lobby, breathless from running down the stairs. "Well, I've decided to quit. This job wasn't quite my style. I'm afraid you'll try to find somebody else, but no warlock in town is going to work for you now. Oh, and.." Magnus strode from the lift after Alec, who had put himself in a protective position in front of him and was watching the security guards, which Magnus tried very hard to ignore, as it may give him heart palpitations or Heaven forbid, feelings.

"And I think there's a problem with your lift." Magnus smirked as he clicked his fingers and the lift dropped from its chain.

They were out of the building and down the street before they heard the sirens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'I saw you trying to hit the 'door close' button in the elevator but I made it in and then I pushed every single button to make you later to work, but now we're stuck in this fucking elevator as it stops at every single floor and I don't know what to say other than 'you started it''  
> Another meeting prompt, this time from the point of view of Magnus! If you have any ideas for stories, let me know and otherwise, enjoy! <3


	3. The Aunt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brace yourself for another (slightly dirty!) one:  
> 'You've got to pretend-date your best friend for a couple of weeks because reasons, and somehow that means we're passing ourselves off as siblings to explain why we live together but we've started giving each other really filthy pre-sex looks behind everyone's back like a game of chicken and pretty soon somebody is going to start to have serious concerns about our siblinghood'  
> But I've adjusted for increased hilarity. You wait. Set after COHF.  
> ENJOY! <3  
> P.S The fic pretty much runs by the shows rules, just to let you know!

Alec could tell from Izzy's immediately pissed off face that he was not going to like what she was about to say.

It was worse than he thought.

"Aunt Mary's coming to stay."

Ever since Alec was little, those words had stoked fear in his heart. He had always felt safe in Magnus's - now Magnus's and Alec's - apartment but it seemed she'd followed him even there.

"For how long." He couldn't even force the words to become a question.

"A week," Izzy sighed, sharing his pain as only a sibling could, even though it wasn't her that Aunt Mary had it out for, which wasn't to say that Isabelle wasn't treated like shit whenever the old hag was around.

It seemed like Aunt Mary had known all about Alec and disliked every part of him since his birth. In fact, Maryse liked the tell the story of about three hours after Alec's birth, when Aunt Mary had seen him for the first time, and turned without a word to leave the hospital. She'd arrived back at the Institute that evening, covered in demon gore after wiping out a whole nest of them that the New York Shadowhunters had been planning a raid on for six months, apparently having defeated them all with one sword and her stele. When congratulated, there were rumours she had muttered, "Not the most distressing thing I've seen today."

Aunt Mary remained a running joke for the rest of the family until her visits every four years. 'Thank God it's not annual' had basically become the Lightwood motto whenever she came. Widowed at the age of twenty-two, Aunt Mary ran the Arkansas Institute single-handedly, making it one of the only states with a demon rate of less than 5%. Basically, she was a badass.

But that didn't make her human. Alec remembered when he was eight, and had been 'caught' playing with Isabelle's Ken doll when she went to the bathroom. Aunt Mary had gasped as if he was playing with a demon, and snatched it away to promptly throw out the window. When he'd cried himself to sleep that night, trying desperately to be quiet but still aware of Izzy's hand holding his from the opposite bed and her watchful gaze shooting remonstrative daggers at the ajar door as if she could close it with her mind, he could still hear Aunt Mary's voice hissing at his parents just outside. Maybe she'd known he was listening. Maybe she'd hoped Izzy was.

"You need to stamp out that nonsense right now. Do you want him growing up," - and her voice had raised as Alec's world plummeted around him, "-to be a fag?"

She'd yelled a little longer but Alec had heard nothing else. He'd dropped Isabelle's hand and rolled over, hearing the insult echo hollowly through his whole body.

And when he was twelve? They'd gone out for dinner and Alec had been allowed a little wine - a little too much - and begun to tell the table a funny story about Jace training the other day. Halfway through the punchline, Aunt Mary had interrupted.

"Alexander, be quiet, the adults are talking." And then in a confidential tone to Maryse that leaked over the whole table, "You'd think he was in love with the poor boy.."

Alec found it hard to talk at dinner after that.

When he was sixteen, he'd managed to avoid her the whole visit until the last night. They'd all sat down to eat and the flashbacks from four years ago had made Alec breathe too fast and clench his fists under the table until Isabelle had gently loosened his grip with one of her own hands.

Aunt Mary had asked him if he had a girlfriend with eyes that reached to his soul and yanked his secrets out to land messily all over his favourite food, made specially, which he would never eat again.

He'd excused himself hurriedly and as he ran to the bathroom where he would be sick, he'd realised that she'd known all along.

So evidently, Alec was not looking to her visit.

After everything that had happened, Alec thought he'd felt the blackest despair there was, the most all-consuming hatred possible, but nothing beat Aunt Mary.

"I can't believe I forgot," he groaned as his head fell into his hands.

Izzy was with him in seconds, as always.

"I am not going to let her bully you like she used to, I swear Alec, if she says anything I will personally ram her stele right up her-"

"Language, Iz. You know the Chairman doesn't like it when you swear," Magnus huffed as he collapsed into a chair, looking slightly resentful at Isabelle taking his rightful place next to Alec.

"Believe me, Aunt Mary is one of the things that warrants swearing," Alec said slowly from beneath his hands, which were beginning to get clammy with nerves. Even the sound of Magnus's morning voice couldn't cheer him up.

"Yeah, well, she's been pretty quiet since the Morgenstern Morons, so I can understand forgetting her. But she's coming. Tomorrow, for a week, as usual," Izzy continued.

"Tomorrow." Alec let the word become reality even as his mind screamed not to.

"Wait." Magnus had sat up and Alec could hear the anger in his voice. "Is this..the aunt?" Alec could picture his face, his eyes darkening in fury. Feeling Magnus's eyes intently, he nodded slightly.

Magnus made to get up and Alec glanced away from his hands, about to ask him where he was going. But at the sight of his boyfriend's disheveled hair and no-coffee slouch, Alec felt that nagging fear of all his Aunt stood for...just disappear.

"I'm going to tell her."

Isabelle and Magnus froze and turned to him slowly. Magnus was beginning to smile, pride radiating from him. Isabelle was smirking the smirk she'd had since she was six and they were breaking into the armoury.

Alec's phone rang.

"Mom?" He picked up hurriedly, already knowing what was coming.

"You can't tell Aunt Mary." His mother sounded rushed and tired and Alec had already forgiven her for the massive favour he was about to accept. If she didn't want him to say, he wouldn't.

"Why?" He asked quietly, aware of Magnus and Izzy's eyes.

"I mean, you can, but please not until the end of the week. You know what she's already like with our family, and there's that vote next week to do with the Downworld charities. If she hears anything she doesn't want to hear, she's liable to turn on us and every vote counts for this. It took so long to get the Clave to even _consider_ the idea of Downworlder shelters, and it's not that it's a bad thing, but she'll take it as one and-"

"Mom, Mom. Okay. I get it. I know how important that idea is to you, to the whole Institute. I won't say."

Maryse hung up with a rapid "Thank you, I love you", and Alec glanced at both Magnus and Izzy, uncertain of their reactions. Isabelle was nodding in understanding as she figured out what Maryse had said but Magnus was carefully neutral, letting Alec make his own mind up.

"Mom needs Mary's vote for that possible Downworlder law so I can't tell her until the end of the week, if then."

"But Aunt Mary knows you're in a relationship," Isabelle said.

Silence. Alec just looked at Izzy, who was now looking a mixture of shocked and guilty.

"She was on the phone with Dad and she wanted to speak to me and she mentioned you and she wanted to know if you were with someone, and she was acting so nice and I couldn't help it because I was thinking about how cute you two were and I said there was someone and she just seized on it, so I..I just hung up." Isabelle gabbled, anxiously fiddling with her hands.

Alec laughed. Isabelle looked up, biting her lip as she began to smile as well.

"You hung up on Aunt Mary?" Izzy nodded and Alec continued laughing until she joined in.

Magnus was smirking from the doorway when Alec looked up. "You appear to still have a problem then."

Isabelle looked up from checking she hadn't run her mascara. "What's that?"

Alec was already on Magnus's wavelength, as he was so often. "I need a girlfriend."

The gang was brainstorming at Taki's over the usual amalgamation of mundane and magical food.

\---- 

"I still say you use a blow up doll," Simon contributed, eating voraciously after a hard day on, as he liked to call it, Demonwatch.

Maia punched Simon even as she muttered instructions to the werewolf pack down the phone.

"Very funny Simon." Isabelle rolled her eyes as she ran her leg up Simon's thigh under the table. Alec kicked her hard enough for her to wince but not hard enough for her to stop.

"What about Aline?"

"She's away with Helen this week, isn't she? They're travelling," Jace added.

"Maia?" Magnus pointed with a smirk.

Maia shook her head apologetically and mouthed 'Too busy' before hissing a few final words and slamming the phone down on the table. "But you know who could work?" she added as she dug back into her noodles.

"Who?" Alec asked, beginning to feel more than a little desperate.

"Clary."

All eyes turned to the fiery redhead who looked half-shocked and half-amused. Jace leant back in his chair with a grin.

"I agree." He said into the heavy silence.

"Absolutely not." Alec growled, stabbing at his pasta.

"Darling, who else is there? And if Clary's up for it.." Magnus trailed off with a glance at Clary.

"Fine, but we have to make it convincing. Like, we have to be completely in love." She said, trying to look innocent, as Jace watched her in awe. Probably had an erection by now judging by the extent of Clary's daring.

Everybody was looking at Alec, who continued to shake his head vehemently.

"No way am I pretending to date you, Clary. There is no way that would work. Absolutely no. Freaking. Way."

"I can't believe this is happening to me," Alec hissed, trying to resist the urge to extricate his hand from Clary's as they waited for the door to open and the infamous Aunt Mary to appear.

"I warn you, I'm not taking any of your aunt's crap."

"Oh, please don't. I'd love to see her destroy you."

"Really, Alec? That doesn't seem very 'in love'. You're going to have to try harder. Maybe 'I'd love to rescue you at the last moment from my evil aunt's clutches.'"

Alec rolled his eyes and released Clary to wipe his sweaty hand on his trousers. She gave him a look and when their hands came together again, she gave his a brief squeeze.

"We can do this. Just pretend I'm Magnus."

Alec snorted. "That would never work."

"Why not?"

"For one, you're short as shit," Alec said.

She gave him a glare but before they could continue, the door handle began to turn and the voice that sometimes reached Alec even in his darkest dreams shrilly drifted through the air to grate at him for the first time in four years.

Aunt Mary opened the door wide.

For a moment, she actually looked shocked. Alec would have smirked if he hadn't been afraid she would kill him for it. Recovering, she swept forward with the lithe Shadowhunter step that hadn't diminished with age.

"Alexander," she said curtly, the name curling off her tongue like poison smoke. Alec felt his hand tighten on Clary's unconsciously as his mind drifted back to all the times Magnus had said the same thing. The way he felt when Magnus said it compared to the way he felt now was indescribable.

Clary was beaming as she offered a hand to Aunt Mary, who frowned.

"And this is your...partner?" She asked Alec, the suspicion and distaste clear in the two syllables.

Clary was still beaming and Alec had no idea how.

"Yes, Aunt Mary, this is Clary-Clarissa Fairchild."

"Shadowhunter extraordinaire." Clary added and Alec squeezed her hand even tighter at the annoyance storming across his aunt's face. Alec had never appreciated just how much of a badass Clary was. A reckless, stupid, idiot, but a badass nonetheless.

Aunt Mary reached out a hand for the world's briefest handshake and then, mercifully, sauntered past without another word. Alec turned to watch her approach Isabelle, who had destroyed the library in ten minutes when she was two, who hadn't flinched to cut open innumerable monsters and dig around in their still-writhing insides, who had not bowed to a demon her whole life, Isabelle, who curtseyed with eyes downcast and said a few quick words before flinching at her aunt's reply. Alec wanted to go to her but he knew he'd make it worse.

Aunt Mary stepped past Isabelle, who was already biting her beautiful nails for the first time in four years, and began to terrorise the rest of the Institute.

Alec breathed for the first time in minutes and let go of Clary's hand. Spotting her wince, he glanced down to see he'd left deep nails marks in her hand.

"I'm so-"

"It's okay, Alec. For better or for worse, right?"

"Um, we're not married Clary."

Clary glanced at him, the retreating back of Aunt Mary and the scared faces awaiting her. "The way this is going....is that a viable idea?"

\---- 

The dinner was quiet. Alec was sitting between Clary and Isabelle, who was holding his hand since he spilt the wine when pouring for Aunt Mary. At first, conversation seemed to center itself around demon hunts and the new Downworlder laws.

Mary was, obviously, the one to ruin it.

"Isabelle, are you seeing somebody?" She asked, maybe trying to sound friendly but only managing to decrease her hostility by about 10%.

"Yes, Aunt Mary," Isabelle answered quietly and it was Alec's turn to squeeze her hand.

"Are you going to explain or am I to infer he's imaginary, as is most likely?"

Isabelle barely flinched. That was almost a compliment for Aunt Mary.

"His name is Simon. He Ascended about two years ago. I'm sorry he couldn't come to dinner, he's been training all afternoon."

"That's no excuse. Make sure he comes tomorrow."

Alec felt her gaze turn to him, criticising and examining and-

"And Alexander."

_Alexander._ Last week, Magnus, totally exasperated as Alec dragged another sweater out of the bin (where, apparently, Chairman Meow had thrown it) and put it on. Amusement had flamed deep in his warlock eyes as he finished his sentence with, "I'll-the Chairman will just throw it out the next time you leave it on the floor."

"Then I won't leave it there," Alec had replied, feeling like a petulant little kid.

"Oh, Alexander.." Magnus stepped closer. "You won't be able to resist."

Alec swallowed as his boyfriend went on, "You know, there really wasn't much point putting it back on since I'm just about to rip it off you anyway."

Alec had left it on the floor but when he'd gone back for it the next day, it was gone. Desperate, he'd searched the floor, under the bed, the backs of chairs, until he found it. Magnus had hung it up in the wardrobe with a note - _'Chairman Meow has changed his mind...for now.'_

"Alec." Isabelle was squeezing his hand again, so hard he almost yelped. The whole table was staring at him. He shifted uncomfortably and then feebly said, "What?"

Just as his eyes landed on Aunt Mary, who had clearly just said something. Maryse took a large gulp of wine, Robert massaged his temples, Clary's smile faltered, Isabelle just put her head in her free hand.

You never asked Aunt Mary to repeat herself. Especially with a "What?"

"I'm so sorry, Aunt Mary, I was completely distracted, thinking about, uh, that report on-"

"There's no need to lie to her, Alec." Clary said quietly.

Alec could have slapped her. "What?" He hissed through gritted teeth.

"I'm sorry, Mary. I'm distracting Alec, we're kinda.." She actually blushed. "Playing footsie under the table."

There was an awkward silence while Alec digested how much he now liked Clary and the rest of the table tried to snigger into their glasses.

"I said, tell me what you've been doing recently."

Alec was so shocked that he didn't even think of what he was saying.

"Mostly, I've been on demon patrol or at the apartment-"

"The apartment?"

Fuck.

"Um..Yeah, I live with Magnus now-"

"Magnus?"

Fuck!

God, she looked sinfully happy, as if she'd caught him with his hand in the stele jar again.

"Dare I inquire who _Magnus_ is?" Aunt Mary asked with a small wicked smile.

"Magnus? Um, well, Magnus is-" Even Clary couldn't think what to say. Alec felt the lie crumble around him and he caught his mother's eye as she gave up on the Downworlder law and nodded for him to tell his aunt the truth.

But Alec wasn't giving up.

"Magnus is a distant cousin, Aunt Mary. Don't you remember him? He comes from Asia, his parents died in a demon attack so ever since, he's lived at the Institute of California. He only recently came to New York, just after Valentine made a reappearance. At first, he was only supposed to be here for a few weeks but he's incredibly skilled and the Clave decided to keep him stationed here permanently. Anyway, we're cousins and when I wanted a little space from the Institute, Mom suggested I move in with him, although I think her line was to 'keep him company.' I've been living there for the last two years pretty much, we're good friends." The lies were so smooth, Alec wondered how they could possibly have come from his hopeless, ordinarily-stammering mouth. Even Isabelle was looking at him in astonishment which she quickly concealed with a nod and a glance at her plate.

"Magnus..." Aunt Mary rolled the name around her tongue and Alec wanted to pull her tongue out for even daring to say it.

Then she nodded.

"Yes, I think I remember a Magnus living in New York." There was a silence as everybody remembered they were supposed to be eating and returned to the food.

Aunt Mary looked up with her sweetest smile, just as Alec was beginning to believe it was all over.

"When do I get to meet him?"

\---- 

Aunt Mary was being, somehow, polite. In fact, the two times Alec saw her the next day, she actually didn't frown. Although she did ask him if Magnus was coming for dinner. Four times.

"You need to come. You don't know her, if you don't turn up in about an hour, she will track you down. Isabelle was out at a nightclub instead of at dinner when she was 16, and Aunt Mary had her back at the table in twenty minutes." Alec winced and decided not to tell Magnus that Isabelle had had a red mark on her face and slightly running mascara as well.

"I'm not saying I won't, Alexander." Alec shivered and tried to focus on Magnus's words. "I just don't see why 'Magnus'" - Alec could hear the inverted commas and the dramatic gesture from across town - "the Shadowhunter would want to live in an apartment with you. One, you're a neat freak."

"Um, no, you're a slob." Alec said, smile twitching the corner of his mouth.

"Two. You treat Chairman Meow as if he has demon pox."

"Just because I don't let him sleep on the pillow!" Alec hissed, trying not to laugh down the phone.

"Three..."

"Three?"

"No, I ran out." Magnus sighed and Alec was about to reply when-

"Alexander?" Aunt Mary stood in the doorway, the familiar vein pulsing in her forehead.

"Um, yes?" Alec froze and before he could hang up, Aunt Mary had taken the phone from his grip.

"Hello?" She frowned and then her expression cleared and a grim smile graced her face.

"Magnus. Good evening, this is Mary Lightwood. You've doubtless heard about me from Alexander."

Alec could sense Magnus bristling as he heard Mary use his full name. Mary, however, seemed pleased with his answer.

"And you will be joining us for dinner, Magnus...?" She trailed off, waiting for a last name, and then nodding as Magnus presumably answered.

"We'll see you then." And she hung up.

Passing Alec back his phone, she left with a quick, "Five minutes, in the library. You and your siblings are being tested on the Gray Book."

Alec immediately called Magnus back.

"Wow." Magnus answered.

"I know."

"Is she.."

"Always like that? Usually worse."

"I am going to have fun tonight. And for future reference, my last name is now, um, Magnus Santiago."

" _Santiago?_ "

"I panicked!"

Alec shook his head and restrained a laugh as Izzy beckoned him from the door. "I need to go. See you tonight, Mr Santiago."

Magnus hung up with a laugh and as Alec followed his sister, he could only hope to hear that laugh again after this evening.

\---- 

Alec beckoned Magnus in and slammed the door behind him before he'd even noticed what his boyfriend was wearing.

For Magnus, it was really, strangely, bizarrely, normal. He was wearing a black suit and the only glitter was buried deep in his hair, where evidently, he had not been able to remove it. His nails were unpainted and face, completely without makeup, and a couple of fake black tattoos had been half uncovered to make him look more like a Shadowhunter. It made Alec feel strange and slightly jealous; this unguarded face was supposed to be his special morning treat, and now everybody got to see it.

Before he could voice this opinion, he was being pinned to the wall.

One of Magnus's hands slid into Alec's perfectly combed hair and Alec gasped in pain and surprise, then abrupt pleasure, as Magnus bit gently at his neck. Desperately, he glanced down the corridor and was about to push Magnus away when the warlock moved back on his own.

"Sorry," he panted, looking _actually sheepish._ "That suit..it looks good on you. Quite a lot good."

"All that for one suit?" Alec said breathlessly, trying not to think of Magnus's teeth sinking into his skin.

"It's a nice one," Magnus shrugged and it was so endearing and shy and, whoops here we go again.

This time, Alec had the advantage. His nerves over Magnus meeting Aunt Mary and the sudden surprise of seeing him again all fuelled his sudden need to be closer to his boyfriend and he actually had the nerve to pin one of Magnus's hands to the wall, which proceeded to make Magnus moan.

Quite loudly.

"Alec!" The hiss forced Alec back to reality and he broke away from Magnus to see an incredulous, exasperated, immensely amused Izzy standing with her hands on her hips.

"At a time like this?" She asked and then shook her head as Alec tried to explain and Magnus straightened his suit.

Without even waiting for a full answer, Isabelle turned and Alec and Magnus were left to trail after her into the Institute proper.

Alec shot a few more nervous looks at Magnus. His hair had taken on a mussed quality that ultimately improved his look and his eyes were especially captivating tonight; for some reason, the colours seemed to be fighting against each other deep-

Oh shit. His eyes.

"Izzy!" Alec hissed as Isabelle went to open the dining room door. "Magnus's eyes."

"Fuck," Isabelle said quietly before spinning and sprinting back towards her room. Magnus gently hit his head off the wall as he spoke, "Sorry, I totally forgot. It's just I was out at Catarina's and then-"

"Hey. Don't apologise for the way you are," Alec said quietly, remembering all the times Magnus had told him the same thing. The Shadowhunter stepped closer but continued to whisper, aware that just a few steps away, his Aunt was impatiently waiting. "I love your eyes."

There was a tiny chance they would have continued making out if Isabelle hadn't come back and smacked them both around the heads before handing Magnus sunglasses.

"Okay, you're blind now," she announced brusquely while striding to the door.

"Hey, no! Izzy, wait, can't you just say that Magnus...I don't know, got demon poison in them last week and he can't stand strong light?"

Isabelle rolled her eyes as she swung the door open. "Fine, but that's a lot less fun." And with a wink, she led them in under the watchful gaze of Aunt Mary.

\---- 

Everything was going completely, oddly, fine. At Magnus's explanation of the sunglasses, Aunt Mary had even sounded sympathetic. Although Alec could visibly feel the lies and backstory they were building for Magnus weave around him, the warlock seemed to be enjoying the deceit. Which didn't surprise Alec to be honest. He was even adding in little comments like, "When I was in California, I thought the same thing..." and once, "I've heard the High Warlock of Brooklyn is the best in America, but I can't quite recall his name.." Even Maryse tried to hide a smirk as she invented a name which Magnus nodded along with.

Talk began to turn towards the Downworlder vote tomorrow, the day before Mary was to leave. As Alec relaxed at the lack of attention, he felt a hand rest lightly on his leg.

No way was Magnus going to do this now.

Alec tensed and shot a glance at Izzy. However, she was picking at her food, which was usual when Aunt Mary was around. He even sent a panicked glance at his parabatai, who was under a strict ban from his siblings not to say a single word since he'd told Aunt Mary to fuck off at the age of twelve. Jace only shrugged and continued listening to the debate going on at the end of the table.

Magnus's hand was trailing slowly up Alec's right leg, giving him opportunity to pull away, but the damn warlock had probably known from the moment he'd seen Alec at the door that all he wanted was the comfort of Magnus's arms. Already, Alec's fist had unclenched and he felt his tight shoulders sinking slowly into relaxation even as he checked to see Aunt Mary still waving her knife around, demonstrating how she'd killed some demon last week.

Magnus was quietly unzipping Alec's trousers and the Nephilim risked a glance at him, trying to convey in an instant his simultaneous need and fear; 'this is not a good idea' and 'do it now' all at once.

His boyfriend slipped a hand into Alec's underwear in one fluid motion and Alec almost dropped his fork. Deciding he really couldn't eat while Magnus did this, he placed his cutlery carefully together - Jace had been screamed at for twenty minutes at age eight when he placed his knife squint - and leant back gently, forcing his hips not to thrust up when Magnus swiped his thumb over the tip of his member.

Magnus was leaning carefully forward, blocking any sign of Alec from the top of the table, and Alec tried not to moan as he realised that even while trying to destroy him, the warlock was protecting him as well. Alec could see his boyfriend's side profile - he looked concentrated and serious, a familiar crease between his eyebrows that he only got while talking about politics. But Alec knew him better. His mouth was turned up slightly, as if he had some secret that Alec was going to have to kiss out of him, and his eyes were distant as he stared at Mary, as if he was thinking of something else.

Alec could feel his cock twitch as a feeling of release began to twist and coil in his abdomen. He nudged Magnus's knee to warn him but the warlock only sharply picked up the pace and Alec almost groaned, disguising it as a weak cough. Izzy glanced at him and Alec could see Jace laughing already - his parabatai knew him too well to not guess what was happening. Clary was oblivious, sitting opposite Alec and obviously sketching in her mind, oblivious to the conversation and other..situations.

Magnus's hand stopped moving. And he spoke.

"Mrs Lightwood, what do you think of the increase in werewolf restrictions over the last, say, one hundred years? I've always wanted the opinion of a Clave representative."

Alec could have killed him. Here he was, throbbing with need and seconds from the edge, and Magnus decided now would be a good time to get involved in a conversation with his extremely strict aunt and draw the attention of the whole table to them.

Mary probably answered but Alec could only stare at his plate and desperately try to stave off release. Gradually, he became aware of Magnus's hand approaching his thigh under the table and he almost slapped it away but gave in when he felt the familiar calluses of the warlock's hand on him. Attention had slipped back to the head of the table and Magnus turned as if to pick up his drink, catching Alec's eye and mouthing 'Let go' with his ordinary mischievous glint and a final twist of his fingers.

Alec came immediately, and had to restrain himself from shouting. Goddamn Magnus. He knew how loud Alec was. He also seemed to know exactly what Alec liked, perhaps before Alec did. Public sex. Another kink to add to the growing list.

Shaking, Alec reached for his drink as Magnus carefully removed his hand and zipped Alec's trousers back up before leaning back in his seat. Alec could feel his smugness and vowed to make him pay.

"Alec."

His aunt's voice brought Alec sharply back from his orgasmic afterglow and he straightened, shifting slightly at his still sticky situation.

"Yes, Aunt Mary?"

"Don't you have an opinion on this legislation? Don't you agree that what your mother ultimately wants is unachievable? _Peace_ with Downworlders?"

Alec hesitated, then shot a glance at Magnus before replying.

"To be honest, they do have a wicked side, but so do all of us. Getting along with Downworlders is a lot easier than we ever thought. I think Downworlders are very similar to us, Aunt Mary. They blend in quite easily if we let them. Nowadays, you probably wouldn't notice one right under your nose."

\---- 

The vote passed quite easily in the end, so easily Aunt Mary's vote could have been done without. But Alec wasn't sorry he'd kept up the lie. It was better for her not to know. And besides, it would save Alec a lot of telling off. Sometimes, people were just the way they were and so stuck in their ways they found it impossible to change. Telling Aunt Mary he was gay was never going to solve anything. She would never accept him for that, it wouldn't change her opinion of gay people, and it most certainly would not change her opinion of Downworlders, especially if she figured out the Magnus factor.

Things were good as they were, and Aunt Mary was leaving. Thank fuck.

She moved down the line of Lightwoods as if she was visiting royalty, briefly shaking hands with Robert and hugging Maryse as fast as possible, as if it was a duty that had to be done. She stalked past Isabelle with barely a nod and ignored Jace completely.

Then she stopped at Alec.

"Alexander. Well done. You seem to be becoming a fine young man." Alec was stunned into complete silence.

"Although I already knew that when you were born. You inspired me to kill those demons, actually." Alec just stared. Had those demons possessed his aunt? "I realised that nobody else was ever going to flush them out when I saw how weak you looked."

" _There_ she is," Alec murmured, earning a snort from Isabelle.

"When is the wedding?" His aunt asked Clary imperiously, as if by saying it, she had made it true.

"Um-Aunt Mary, we haven't-" Alec interjected hurriedly.

"June 18th." Clary answered with a beam. She shot Alec a glance that from Aunt Mary's angle said 'I am madly in love with this boy' and from Alec's, looked more like 'shut the fuck up, we can deal with it later.'

"Weren't going to take her crap, huh?" Alec murmured.

"I didn't say what year.." Clary muttered as Aunt Mary swept off to shake hands with Magnus, who was pretending to flinch in the strong sunlight.

"I know you already have to look out for Alexander, but please keep Jace in check," she said.

Magnus smirked. "I always try."

"He's far too reckless as it is," Aunt Mary replied as she reached her car and when she turned, it was with an extremely rare smile.

"He reminds me of me at that age."

Then she got in and started driving up the street.

Jace looked aghast as the whole family burst out laughing. As the Lightwoods wandered back inside, Isabelle already referring to Jace as 'Auntie', Alec felt Magnus grab his hand.

They paused on the steps as Magnus tucked the sunglasses into Alec's pocket and left his hand on his chest. God, that felt good.

They turned to watch Aunt Mary's car and Alec knew she was watching, somehow.

Fuck it.

He reached up and crashed into a kiss with Magnus. He faintly heard the car swerve and smash into something but honestly, he didn't give a flying fuck.

When they finally broke apart, Aunt Mary's car was gone, a mailbox was askew and the sun was beginning to set, catching in Magnus's hair.

"Next time you want to give me a handjob, can you try not doing it in front of my whole family?"

Magnus grinned. "Not a chance. Next time, I'm doing it in front of the whole Clave. And Chairman Meow."

"Ew, no. Not Chairman Meow."

"But the Clave's okay?"

"Magnus!"

They argued all the way down the street. And then they argued a little bit more. And then they made out. Which was to be expected, really.


End file.
